The Sonar sailors, John Robertson, left, Hannah Stodel, centre, and Stephen Thomas have won six world titles but finished sixth in Athens and Beijing. Photo: Richard Langdon/Ocean images/Getty Images

In the past they may have felt overwhelmed at the prospect of following Team GB's world-beating sailors. This time it could just be the turn of the Paralympic sailing team to outshine their Olympic counterparts.

All six of the British sailors who will compete in the three classes of boat in the Paralympic regatta are veterans of previous games. And all six feel they have something to prove as they try to win a first ever Paralympian medal in sailing for GB.

Helena Lucas, who sails solo in the 2.4mR keelboat, said the team had been disappointed not to come away with a medal at Beijing and were determined to make sure GB's Paralympic medal account is opened at London 2012. Lucas, who finished seventh in China, said this team had a tremendous chance of success this time. "It's the same team that went to Beijing so we know each other really well, which I think is a massive benefit.

"We are all capable of coming away with a gold medal. Hopefully all three teams will be standing on the rostrum in front of a home crowd. To medal here would make up for not medalling in Beijing 100 times."

The 37-year-old Lucas is an interesting character. She was born without thumbs but that did not stop her becoming one of GB's most talented sailors and winning a silver medal in the 2006 Olympic test event in Beijing in the Yngling class. By that time she was already also competing in the 2.4mR Paralympic class, probably the most competitive of the three boats.

There has been intense competition between Lucas and her training partner, Megan Pascoe, for the place in the team and Lucas was among the last batch of Olympic and Paralympic sailors to be picked. "Selection's been a tough road," she said. "We've pushed each other really hard and we've definitely improved."

Sailing has been a full part of the Paralympic Games since Sydney 2000. The Germans have won more golds than anyone with two while the Americans have won the most medals overall – five. Other nations that have done well include France, Australia, Canada, Holland and Israel. Among the 23 nations that will be represented this time are Japan, Puerto Rico, Malaysia and Singapore. Up to 80 athletes will take part.

The boats are, if anything, more technical than the Olympic versions. They are all keelboats, making them less likely to capsize and they are adapted in different ways so that sailors with many disabilities can compete. A complex classification system based on an athlete's ability to perform tasks on the boat is designed to ensure fairness.

But the most impressive element of the national sailing team, Skandia Team GBR, is that the Paralympians are an integral part of the set-up rather than an extra.

Hannah Stodel, one of the trio competing in the Sonar class, said they were one of the "luckiest teams". "When I look at some of the foreign teams, I think: 'How are they surviving? How are they managing to get to events without the support of their governing body and their Olympic team?' Skandia Team GBR is 13 Olympic and Paralympic classes. It's not an us-and-them approach. Our team is very integrated and that is really powerful."

So they might be working on their boat and have double Olympic gold medalist Iain Percy walk past and give them some advice. Or they might bump into four-time gold medalist Ben Ainslie pushing his body to the brink in the gym.

Being part of such a machine means that life can be tough. Just like the Olympians, the Paralympians are all too aware that their funding is constantly reviewed. At one point the Sonar trio's money was pulled. "They took our funding away to make us realise we needed to work harder," said Stodel. "We were becoming a bit arrogant, we were winning medals. But they said: 'No, not good enough.'" They got their act together and the funding was restored.

The Sonar sailors (Stodel, who was born without a right forearm, John Robertson, the victim of a motorcycle accident, and Stephen Thomas, who lost his legs below the knees after contracting meningococcal septicaemia), have won six medals in world championships but have failed at the Olympics, finishing sixth in Athens and Beijing.

Stodel suggests they might have been put off by the success of the Olympic sailors. "Our Olympic sailing team is hugely successful so to follow on from them, the pressure's always going to be on."Thomas, who was a good rugby player before his illness, first dreamed of competing in the Paralympics as he lay recovering in his hospital bed. He said it took a long time to get over the disappointment of not winning in China. "I felt I let myself down and everyone else down because we hadn't performed to our ability. I'm ready now. I'm ready to win a medal."

The final boat, the two-person Skud 18, will be sailed by Alex Rickham and Niki Birrell. A tetraplegic athlete, Jamaican-born Rickham began sailing during rehabilitation in Miami following a diving accident when she was a teenager. Birrell, who has cerebral palsy, learned to sail on the same lakes in the north-west of England as Stuart Bithell, who won silver during the Olympic regatta with Luke Patience. He campaigned for the Olympics with his brother before striking up the partnership with Rickham in the Paralympics.

At Beijing Birrell was helm and they came fifth. They have swapped this time and post-Beijing have won every world championship. Like the Sonar sailors they also won gold at Sail for Gold, the last regatta at Weymouth and Portland ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic events.

They accept that they are seen as an odd couple with Rickham admitting that she could find her partner "very annoying". "He doesn't shut up about Formula One, Manchester City and sailing."

Birrell said: "Alex loves the organisation, loves the planning, likes the textbook way and concentrates. She's very good at helming the boat. I'm a it more out there. I use instinct to get me through."

Like all six members of the team, Birrell is hoping to lay rest the demons of Beijing. "We've got a score to settle. Fifth last time wasn't good enough and I would really hope for everyone's sake we get gold."

The Olympic team had a good games, winning five medals (Ainslie's gold and four silver). They exceeded their target of four but were disappointed not to pick up more golds and finished third in the medals table behind Australia and Spain. With a little luck the Paralympians could go better and top their table.